[Ohio-talk] fyi

Tue Dec 18 22:04:49 UTC 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:

Stacy Brannan-Smith
Communications Specialist
Disability Rights Ohio
800-282-9181, ext. 101
sbrannan-smith at disabilityrightsohio.org
<mailto:sbrannan-smith at disabilityrightsohio.org> 

Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
410-659-9314, ext. 2330
cdanielsen at nfb.org <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org> 

Three Workers with Disabilities Previously Paid Subminimum Wages Sue Roppe
Industries for Employment Discrimination 
The National Federation of the Blind Supports Litigation Brought by Brown,
Goldstein & Levy, LLP, and Disability Rights Ohio

December 18, 2018

COLUMBUS, OHIO - Three long-time employees of Seneca Re-Ad, a workshop in
Fostoria that acts as the Sampling Division for the manufacturer Roppe
Corporation, are hoping to gain an equal chance to do their jobs and access
the same advancement, pay and benefit opportunities as other Roppe workers.
A lawsuit filed today in the Federal District Court for the Northern
District of Ohio by Disability Rights Ohio (DRO)
<http://disabilityrightsohio.org>  and the Baltimore law firm of Brown,
Goldstein & Levy, LLP <https://www.browngold.com/> , with support from the
National Federation of the Blind <https://nfb.org/> , alleges discrimination
by Roppe and Seneca Re-Ad with assistance from the Seneca County Board of
Developmental Disabilities. 

The complaint outlines a number of ways in which Roppe Corporation, an
internationally-known flooring manufacturer that reported sales of $72.7
million in 2017, publicly considers Seneca Re-Ad a critical part of its
organization but fails to meet its equal employment responsibilities under
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For instance, Roppe clients are
often given tours of the organization's manufacturing facilities, with a
stop at what it calls its Sampling Division - the Seneca Re-Ad facility
where people with disabilities turn out more than 25 million merchandise
samples each year. But these highly productive employees, including
plaintiffs Pamela Steward, Mark Felton and Ralph (Joe) Magers, are not paid
the prevailing wage offered to other Roppe employees, are denied robust
cross-training and the chance to advance through the company and receive the
same benefits, including health insurance, vacation time or retirement
plans. 

The lawsuit further alleges that Ms. Steward, Mr. Felton and Mr. Magers have
been denied reasonable accommodations required by the ADA to do their jobs.
Ms. Steward has asthma but is not regularly provided with a thirty-cent
protective mask to prevent her from inhaling rubber dust, even though she
has made weekly requests for one. Mr. Magers is blind and needs the floor
tiles for the samples he assembles to be organized by color, but this is not
done. Furthermore, he has been provided with only printed training
materials, although he has repeatedly requested verbal and tactile training.
Mr. Felton has Autism and needs regular breaks to avoid becoming
overstimulated and to reorient himself, but he is denied these breaks or is
disciplined for taking them.

"Roppe Corporation now has an opportunity to lead the way in the
manufacturing sector by providing truly integrated employment for the people
with disabilities they say they value," says Disability Rights Ohio Director
of Advocacy Kerstin Sjoberg. "We hope Roppe will work with us to create
something brand new that would be groundbreaking not only in the Seneca
County community, but also in the state of Ohio." 

"The work arrangement in which these three individuals and their coworkers
are trapped is a textbook example of virtually everything that is wrong with
the segregated model of employment for people with disabilities, which is
based on low expectations and erroneous stereotypes," said Mark Riccobono,
President of the National Federation of the Blind. "Roppe Corporation is
missing an opportunity to be a model employer of people with disabilities.
Instead, the company appears to be willing to exploit them for cheap labor,
while both it and Seneca County officials shamelessly tout that exploitation
as a public good."
---
About Disability Rights Ohio: Disability Rights Ohio is the federally and
state designated Protection and Advocacy System and Client Assistance
Program for the state of Ohio. The mission of Disability Rights Ohio is to
advocate for the human, civil and legal rights of people with disabilities
in Ohio. Disability Rights Ohio provides legal advocacy and rights
protection to a wide range of people with disabilities.
disabilityrightsohio.org <http://www.disabilityrightsohio.org/> 

About Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP: Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a 22-lawyer
law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, that handles cases of every stripe,
both civil and criminal, including an active disability rights practice.
browngold.com <https://www.browngold.com/> 

About the National Federation of the Blind: The National Federation of the
Blind (NFB), headquartered in Baltimore, is the oldest and largest
nationwide organization of blind Americans. Founded in 1940, the NFB
consists of affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the fifty states,
Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. The NFB defends the rights of blind people
of all ages and provides information and support to families with blind
children, older Americans who are losing vision, and more. We believe in the
hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to transform them into
reality. Learn more about our many programs and initiatives at www.nfb.org
<http://www.nfb.org> . 

Richard Payne,  President
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
937-396-5573or 937/829/3368
Rchpay7 at gmail.com
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back

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